For much of his life, Mike McRoberts felt burdened by not knowing his own language - te reo Māori. Growing up at a time when te reo was scarcely spoken in daily conversations, and within a mixed-race family with little connection to Māoritanga, his experience mirrored that of many other New Zealanders of his generation. In later years, as a journalist and presenter of Newshub's six o'clock news, his confident television persona masked the anxiety he felt greeting viewers with the simple phrase, 'Kia ora, good evening'. Not being comfortable speaking his language was a source of shame - a shame that ironically kept him from starting his te reo journey sooner. In Speaking My Language / Kōrero i Tōku Reo Mike shares his story of that journey to speak te reo Māori and reclaim his identity. His book is an invitation for all New Zealanders to take the first step to understand why speaking our Māori language and treasuring our culture matters.

From a childhood in rural Piopio, Jenny-May Coffin grew up to achieve international success as a Silver Fern and then began a stellar career on radio and television as a sports commentator and morning presenter. But outward success can often mask inner uncertainty, and Jenny-May lost her grip on the confidence her ten-year-old self possessed. The ups and downs of a full life, with tragedies as well as triumphs, left her in need of renewal. Here is the story of how she found self-confidence again, reclaiming strength and identity through her connections to te ao Māori, with the support of her husband, Dean Clarkson, and her close ties to her parents and siblings.

​

FREEDOM’s EDGE - This true story is a personal account of a young woman photographer’s journey and imprisonment in Afghanistan, at a pivotal moment in history— A rebel, artist, eager to see beyond the shores of her home - New Zealand- , at the beginning of young Victoria’s journey into Afghanistan in February of 1978, the country – a breath-taking array of mountains, valleys, deserts, and home to a peoples' whose cultural, religious footprint dated back 50,000 years BC – was a mecca for travelers of every ilk. Ruled by the dictator, Daoud, the Country was seemingly at peace and prospering. Had Daoud upheld the maxim of his exiled cousin, King Zahir Shah (and that of predecessors) of ‘the right to freedom and dignity for every individual’– two hundred years of Afghanistan’s internal peace might have continued, and Afghanistan retained its position as one of the world’s MUST VISIT cultural and world-wonder destinations to this day. As it was, the Dictator suppressed democratic freedoms, while playing dice with two ambitious Superpowers -the USSR and USA – eager to find a chink in Afghanistan’s amour. This is the subjective story of a 'sensitive's' extraordinary experience in a country where (quote) 'legend speaks of a concentration of knowledge or mystery held within its land and peoples'...